Modular bus bar insulator

ABSTRACT

An insulator for a bus bar of a breaker panel may be modularly sacrificed for the installation of a breaker. The ability to modularly sacrifice insulating portions enables protection of the electrical service worker while installing a new breaker panel or modifying an existing breaker panel.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of, and claims priorityto, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/146,239, now U.S. Pat. No.10,373,743, titled “MODULAR BUS BAR INSULATOR,” filed on Sep. 28, 2018,which is a continuation application of, and claims priority to, U.S.patent application Ser. No. 15/894,641, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,090,084,titled “MODULAR BUS BAR INSULATOR,” filed on Feb. 12, 2018. Thedisclosure of each of the foregoing applications is incorporated hereinby reference in their entirety for all purposes.

BACKGROUND

A typical breaker panel, such as a breaker panel in a residentialbuilding or commercial building, includes a bus bar structure that hasat least one, and typically two or three elongated hot bus bars that arerespectively connected to different phases in an electrical system.FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate an example breaker panel with two bus bars. Thebus bars are usually interspersed in an opposing comb-like structure.The bus bars are arranged within the breaker panel such that as breakersare cumulatively added to the breaker panel, the load of the system isdistributed among the phases.

The bus bars on the breaker panel are often exposed at various times.For example, when a panel is first installed, conductive portions of thebus bar that electrically couple to breakers may be exposed when thebreakers are not installed. This can lead to an electrical hazard.Additionally, during installation, there may be additional constructiongoing on in the area of the breaker panel. Construction debris, such asdrywall dust, for example, may deposit on the exposed portions of thebus bar. If the debris is not cleaned before a breaker is connected tothe bus bar, conduction between the breaker and the bus bar may beinhibited by the resulting resistance. This can lead nuisance trips,shorts, and equipment failure. Further still, during painting, paint maybe accidentally applied to the bus bars, which drastically inhibits aconductive connection between the bus bar and circuit breaker.

SUMMARY

This specification relates to a modular bus bar insulator that allowsfor the modular removal of portions of the insulator for attachingcorresponding breakers. The modular form of the insulator provides foreasy removal of the insulator without the need for specific tools, andalso provides for insulation of the bus bar and protection of the busbar from debris while attached.

In general, one innovative aspect of the subject matter described inthis specification can be embodied in an apparatus that includes aninsulator apparatus, comprising: a plurality of insulator modules formedof an insulator material, each insulator module: corresponding to arespective portion of a bus bar apparatus in a breaker panel, formed toreceive its respective portion of the bus bar apparatus and to provideinsulation protection from the respective portion of the bus barapparatus when receiving the bus bar apparatus, and defined by aperiphery that corresponds to a periphery of one or more circuitbreakers that can attach to the respective portion of the bus barapparatus; separation regions defining the peripheries of the insulatormodules, each separation region having a shear strength less than ashear strength the portion of the insulator material within theperipheries of the insulator modules such that, when the buss barapparatus is received by the insulator apparatus, each insulator modulemay be individually separated from the insulator apparatus to expose therespective portion of the bus bar apparatus to which it corresponds sothat the respective portion of the bus bar so exposed may receive one ormore circuit breakers.

Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in thisspecification can be embodied in an apparatus that includes a circuitbreaker panel, comprising: a breaker box; and a bus bar apparatus withinthe main breaker box, the bus bar apparatus including a pair of opposedhot bus bars, each of the hot bus bars including a plurality ofrespective portions that can electrically couple to a circuit breakerwhen the circuit breaker is received in the breaker box; and aninsulator apparatus, comprising a plurality of insulator modules formedof an insulator material, each insulator module: corresponding to arespective portion of the opposed hot bus bars, formed to receive itsrespective portion of the bus bar apparatus and to provide insulationprotection from the respective portion of the bus bar apparatus whenreceiving the bus bar apparatus, and defined by a periphery thatcorresponds to a periphery of one or more circuit breakers that canattach to the respective portion of the hot bus bars; separationsregions defining the peripheries of the insulator modules, eachseparation region having a shear strength less than a shear strength theportion of the insulator material within the peripheries of theinsulator modules such that, when the bus bar apparatus is received bythe insulator apparatus, each insulator module may be individuallyseparated from the insulator apparatus to expose the respective portionof the hot bus bars to which it corresponds so that the respectiveportion of the hot bus bars so exposed my receive one or more circuitbreakers.

Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in thisspecification can be embodied in an apparatus that includes one or moreinsulator modules formed of an insulator material, each insulatormodule: corresponding to a respective portion of a bus bar apparatus ina breaker panel; formed to receive the bus bar apparatus in the breakerpanel to cover its respective portion of the bus bar apparatus and toprovide insulation protection from the respective portion of the bus barapparatus when receiving the respective portion of the bus barapparatus; and defined by a periphery that corresponds to a periphery ofone or more circuit breakers that can attach to the respective portionof the bus bar apparatus.

The inventions describe in this written description may realize one ormore of the following advantages. In implementations in which theinsulation modules are connected to each other by separation regions,each insulation module may be removed quickly and easily without the useof hand tools, or, alternatively, by use of a simple gripping tool, suchas a pliers. This allows for rapid removal of the insulation on anas-needed basis, and does not significantly impact service time orinstallation time required by electrician professionals. Because theperiphery defined by the separation regions also define a footprint of abreaker, a single module may be removed, and after the correspondingcircuit breaker is installed, no portions of the bus bars remain exposedto present electrical hazards. By forming the insulation apparatus tomate with particular breaker panel designs, an inexpensive moldingprocess may be used to manufacture the insulation apparatus.Accordingly, particular molds for corresponding breaker panels may beused to manufacture the insulating apparatus in a variety of differentshapes and sizes. Because the insulator apparatus is molded to the outercontours of the breaker panel in the vicinity of the bus bars, theconductive portions of the bus bars are protected from constructiondebris, dust, paint, and the like. Accordingly, there is no need foradditional cleaning of the bus bar underlying an insulation module afterthe insulation module is removed.

The details of one or more embodiments of the subject matter describedin this specification are set forth in the accompanying drawings and thedescription below. Other features, aspects, and advantages of thesubject matter will become apparent from the description, the drawings,and the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is top view of a breaker box with circuit breakers.

FIG. 2 is a top view of a breaker box without circuit breakers andhaving fully exposed bus bars.

FIG. 3 is a top view of a portion of the breaker panel of FIG. 2 withinsulator modules of an insulator apparatus that are insulatingrespective portions of the bus bars.

FIG. 4 is a top view of the portion of a breaker panel covered by theinsulator apparatus and corresponding sectional view indicators.

FIGS. 5-9 are sectional views of the portion of the breaker panelcovered by the insulator apparatus depicted in FIG. 4.

FIG. 10 is an alternate embodiment of an insulator apparatus.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is top view of a breaker box 100 with circuit breakers 120. InFIG. 1, the breaker box 100 includes a panel assembly 110 and panel tabs112 on the right side and panel tabs 114 on the left side. Within thepanel is a bus bar apparatus, which, in this example, includes hot busbars 140 and 150, which respectively carry different phases ofelectrical power. In the examples that follow, two-phase breaker boxesare used for illustrative breaker boxes. However, the insulatorapparatus may also be implemented in single-phase or three-phase breakerboxes.

Each bus bar 140 and 150 has respective conductive bus tabs 142 and 152,of which only two are numbered to avoid congestion in the drawings. Toinstall a circuit breaker 120, the circuit breaker 120 is engaged withthe a panel tab 112 or 114 and corresponding bus tabs 142 or 152.

In FIG. 1, the breaker box 100 is illustrated with portions of the busbars 140 and 150 full exposed. Such a configuration may occur, forexample, when an electrician is initially installing the breaker box 100and installing breakers 120 for corresponding loads. As can be seen fromFIG. 1, there is a significant shock hazard present.

FIG. 2 illustrates another breaker box 200 with a smaller breaker panelassembly 210, and further illustrates one example configuration of busbars 240 and 250. FIG. 3 is a top view of a portion of the breaker panelassembly 210 of FIG. 2 with insulator modules 302-314 of an insulatorapparatus 300 that are insulating respective portions of the bus bars240 and 250, which are the hot bus bars. The insulator apparatus 300 isfitted, e.g., by a molding process, to mate with the various surfacecontours, tabs, and the like of the bus bars 240 and 250 and surroundingportion of the breaker panel assembly 210.

As shown in FIG. 3, the insulator apparatus 300 includes multipleinsulator modules 302, 304, 306, 208 and 310. Each insulator module isformed of an insulator material, such as a flexible elastomer, neoprenerubber, ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) rubber, or siliconerubber. Alternatively, the material may be a more rigid thermoplastic.

Each insulator module 302, 304, 306, 208 and 310 corresponds to arespective portions of the bus bars 240 and 250, and is modularly formedto affix within the breaker panel to cover its respective portion of thebus bars 240 and/or 250. By doing so, each insulator module 302, 304,306, 308 and 310 provides insulation protection from the respectiveportions of the bus bars 240 and 250 when affixed within the breakerpanel assembly 210.

Each insulator module 302, 304, 306, 208 and 310 is also defined by aperiphery that corresponds to a periphery of one or more circuitbreakers that can attach to the respective portions of the bus bars.

In the example implementation of FIG. 1, the peripheries are defined byseparation regions 322, 324, 326, 328, 330 and 332. The outer peripheryof the insulator apparatus 300 is formed such that the bus bars 240 and250 are not exposed. Each separation region 322, 324, 326, 328, 330 and332 has a shear strength less than a shear strength the portion of theinsulator material within the peripheries of the insulator modules 302,304, 306, 308 and 310. Thus, when the insulator apparatus 300 is affixedwithin the breaker panel assembly 210, each insulator module 302, 304,306, 308 and 310 may be individually separated from the insulatorapparatus 300 to expose the respective portions of the bus bars 240 and250 to which it corresponds so that the respective portions of the busbars so exposed may receive one or more circuit breakers 120.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, each insulator module 302, 304, 306, 308 and310 traverses both bus bars 240 and 250 so that when one insulatormodule is removed, a portion of both bus bars 240 and 250 is exposed. Inan alternate implementation, another separation region may traverse thelongitudinal axis 211, and the insulator module so removed may onlyexpose a region of the bus bars from the center of the breaker panelassembly 210 to one side.

The insulator apparatus 300 may also include another module 314 to covera remaining portion of the bus bars 240 and 205 to which circuitbreakers are not attached.

For bus bars that include vertically extending conductive tabs, eachinsulator module may be modularly formed to affix to the breaker panelby being modularly formed to receive one or more conductive bus tabs ofthe respective portion of the bus bar apparatus to which it corresponds.When the insulator module so receives the one or more tabs, it providesinsulation protection from the one or more conductive bus tabs of therespective portion of the bus bar.

Such insulation is illustrated in more detail with reference to FIGS.4-9. FIG. 4 is a top view of a portion of a breaker panel assembly 401covered by an insulator apparatus 400. The corresponding sectional viewsare illustrated in FIGS. 5-9. The insulator apparatus 400 of FIG. 4 issimilar to that of FIG. 3, and includes insulator modules 402, 404, 406,408, 410 and 412 that cover corresponding portions of the bus bars 440and 450. The bus bars include conductive tabs 442, 444, 446, 452, 454and 456. Separation regions 422, 424, 426, 428, 430 and 432 define theinterior peripheries of the insulator modules 402, 404, 406, 408, 410and 412.

FIGS. 5-8 illustrate the separation regions 422, 424, 426, 428, 430 and432 at various cross-sections. In some implementations, the separationregions are formed of the insulator material and integrally formed withthe plurality of insulator modules. For example, the separation regionsmay be perforations to enable tearing along the separation region when aportion of the insulator module is pulled. Alternatively, the separationregions may have a thickness that is less than a thickness of theinsulator material within the peripheries of the insulator modules,which also reduces the shear strength along the separation region toenable a clean tear. Other types of separation regions in an integrallyformed insulator apparatus may include scorings, for example. In otherimplementations, the insulator modules may be separately formed andconnected at the separation regions by a glue or some other adhesive orconnection means (e.g., sewn together, plastic staples, or evenintegrally formed male and female connecting apparatus on each insulatormodule).

FIGS. 5-8 also illustrate how the insulator modules may be form moldedto receive a corresponding breaker panel. As illustrated at each crosssection, the insulator apparatus 400, by means of its respective modules402, 404, 406, 408, 410 and 412, receives the corresponding breakerpanel and are thereby attaches to the panel and provide insulation andprotection of the bus bars 440 and 450.

With reference to FIG. 6, an electrician may desire to install one ormore circuit breakers on tab 442. To do so, the electrician may simplygrip the portion of the insulator module 402 receiving the tab 442 andpull upward, while pressing on the insulator module 404. This will causethe separation region 422 to separate under shear, thereby exposing thebus bars and providing a footprint within which the circuit breakers maybe installed.

FIG. 10 is an alternate embodiment of an insulator apparatus 500. Inthis implementation, that insulator modules 502, 504, 506, 508, 510 and512 are not integrally formed, but instead abut each other at theirrespective interior peripheries 503, 505, 507, 509, 511 and 513. When inplace, the insulator modules 502, 504, 506, 508, 510 and 512 completelycover the bus bars 540 and 550. The insulator modules 502, 504, 506,508, 510 and 512 are molded in a form to be flexibly received andattached to the panel, and easily removed for installation of circuitbreakers.

While the example breaker panels illustrated above include bus tabs, theinsulator apparatus can be formed to fit other breaker panels that donot include bus tabs. As long as the insulator apparatus is formed toaffix to the exterior contours and protrusions of a panel, it mayprovide the insulation benefits described above. Moreover, it need noteven affix to the bus bar if the bus bars comprise planar surfaceregions that mate with breakers, so long as it affixes to other portionsof the breaker panel so that it may remain affixed to the breaker panel.Thus, the insulator apparatus described above may be adapted to affix toany number of different types of breaker panels.

While this specification contains many specific implementation details,these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of anyinventions or of what may be claimed, but rather as descriptions offeatures specific to particular implementations of particularinventions. Certain features that are described in this specification inthe context of separate implementations can also be implemented incombination in a single implementation. Conversely, various featuresthat are described in the context of a single implementation can also beimplemented in multiple implementations separately or in any suitablesubcombination. Moreover, although features may be described above asacting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, oneor more features from a claimed combination can in some cases be excisedfrom the combination, and the claimed combination may be directed to asubcombination or variation of a subcombination.

Thus, particular implementations of the subject matter have beendescribed. Other implementations are within the scope of the followingclaims. In some cases, the actions recited in the claims can beperformed in a different order and still achieve desirable results. Inaddition, the processes depicted in the accompanying figures do notnecessarily require the particular order shown, or sequential order, toachieve desirable results. In certain implementations, multitasking andparallel processing may be advantageous.

What is claimed is:
 1. An insulator apparatus, comprising: a pluralityof insulator modules formed of an insulator material, each insulatormodule: corresponding to a respective portion of a bus bar apparatus ina breaker panel; formed to receive its respective portion of the bus barapparatus and to provide insulation protection from the respectiveportion of the bus bar apparatus when receiving the bus bar apparatus;and separation regions defining the peripheries of the insulatormodules, each separation region having a shear strength less than ashear strength of the portion of the insulator material within theperipheries of the insulator modules such that, when the bus barapparatus is received by the insulator apparatus, each insulator modulemay be individually separated from the insulator apparatus to expose therespective portion of the bus bar apparatus to which it corresponds; andwherein separation of one or more insulator modules from the insulatorapparatus when the bus bar is received by the insulator apparatusexposes the respective one or more portions of the bus bar to receiveone or more circuit breakers.
 2. The insulator apparatus of claim 1,wherein the insulator module is formed to affix to receive itsrespective portion of the bus bar apparatus by being formed to receiveone or more conductive bus tabs of the respective portion of the bus barapparatus.
 3. The insulator apparatus of claim 1, wherein the separationregions are formed of the insulator material and integrally formed withthe plurality of insulator modules.
 4. The insulator apparatus of claim2, wherein the separation regions are perforations.
 5. The insulatorapparatus of claim 2, wherein the separation regions have a thicknessthat is less than a thickness of the insulator material within theperipheries of the insulator modules.
 6. The insulator apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the insulator material is a flexible elastomer.
 7. Theinsulator apparatus of claim 1, wherein the insulator material is one ofneoprene rubber, ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) rubber, orsilicone rubber.
 8. The insulator apparatus of claim 1, wherein theinsulator material is a thermoplastic.
 9. The insulator apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein each respective portion of the bus bar apparatus is ahot bus bar.
 10. A circuit breaker panel, comprising: a breaker box; anda bus bar apparatus within the main breaker box, the bus bar apparatusincluding a pair of opposed hot bus bars, each of the hot bus barsincluding a plurality of respective portions that can electricallycouple to a circuit breaker when the circuit breaker is received in thebreaker box; and an insulator apparatus, comprising a plurality ofinsulator modules formed of an insulator material, each insulatormodule: corresponding to a respective portion of the opposed hot busbars; and formed to receive its respective portion of the bus barapparatus and to provide insulation protection from the respectiveportion of the bus bar apparatus when receiving the bus bar apparatus;separations regions defining the peripheries of the insulator modules,each separation region having a shear strength less than a shearstrength the portion of the insulator material within the peripheries ofthe insulator modules such that, when the bus bar apparatus is receivedby the insulator apparatus, each insulator module may be individuallyseparated from the insulator apparatus to expose the respective portionof the hot bus bars to which it corresponds; and wherein separation ofone or more insulator modules from the insulator apparatus when the busbar is received by the insulator apparatus exposes the respective one ormore portions of the bus bar to receive one or more circuit breakers.11. The circuit breaker panel of claim 10, wherein the each insulatormodule is formed to receive the bus bar apparatus by being formed toreceive one or more conductive bus tabs of the respective portion of thebus bar apparatus.
 12. The circuit breaker panel of claim 10, whereinthe separation regions are formed of the insulator material andintegrally formed with the plurality of insulator modules.
 13. Thecircuit breaker panel of claim 10, wherein the separation regions areperforations.
 14. The circuit breaker panel of claim 10, wherein theseparation regions have a thickness that is less than a thickness of theinsulator material within the peripheries of the insulator modules. 15.The circuit breaker panel of claim 10, wherein the insulator material isa flexible elastomer.
 16. The circuit breaker panel of claim 10, whereinthe insulator material is one of neoprene rubber, ethylene propylenediene monomer (EPDM) rubber, or silicone rubber.